U.S. HISPANIC
Jorge Rossi of J.R. Videos Intl. sues Amazon.com for misuse of his series title La Historia de Los Mundiales
Maribel Ramos-Weiner| 27 de agosto de 2021
Jorge Rossi de Sunshine State Television Network Inc. y J.R. Videos International Inc.
Jorge Rossi, CEO of JRVideos Intl. Inc., filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc. in the US for the misuse of its title La Historia de Los Mundiales, a series made up of 56 episodes of 50 ′ each, which documents the Soccer World Cups from Uruguay 1930 to Russia 2018. It is a product born on VHS in 2001 that was broadcast by FOX Sports Intl. throughout America.
Since June 2006, users, mainly Hispanics, are invited by Amazon to view the title La Historia de Los Mundiales, and once the user enters their platform, they find that the series is not available or “out of stock” and “they are offered in its place other products completely different, but perhaps attractive to soccer fans (but not necessarily),” said Rossi.
“For more than 15 years they have been misleading Latino consumers attracted by my series, very popular because it has been in FOX Sports Intl. programming throughout the American continent since 2002. As it is an audiovisual encyclopedia about all the Soccer World Cups from Uruguay 1930 to Russia 2018, it is common for fans to visit the site frequently, something that Amazon took advantage of, and still does, to offer it since June 2006 without having it on its platform, despite my periodic calls to try that it’s inserted in their catalog”, explained Rossi.
The federal judge of the Southern District Court of Florida rejected the request for “dismissal” made by Amazon and ordered the parties to reach an out-of-court settlement as soon as possible, otherwise, the dispute will go to trial. Rossi indicated that Amazon has until August 30 to decide. He added that, in principle, Amazon accepted that Jorge Rossi owns the trademark and the intellectual property rights of the title and the series, accredited in the US Department of Commerce, in the IMPI of Mexico, and in the Supreme Court of Argentina (Jorge Rossi vs. FIFA and TyC Sports July 2011).
“It’s a David vs. Goliath fight. But with the trademark and intellectual property rights on my part, Goliath can delay the outcome but not change it,” Rossi emphasized. In 2006, he also sued FIFA and TyC Sports in Argentina for the same rights, obtaining a favorable ruling from the Supreme Court in 2011.
